Hibouwine

Small-lot, Heartfelt Wines

An Unfolding Discovery

Starting with excellent fruit from honorable growers, we make our wines gently and responsively with minimal intervention. Our work follows each barrel’s lead as the wine slowly reveals itself through a natural process over time. We rely on native yeasts, unhurried whole-cluster fermentations, and hand punchdowns. We age classically in barrel with minimal racking, and only the wines that genuinely excite us become Hibou.

A Hunt For Hidden Gems

We partner with prized sites in and along the Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, Napa Valley, and North Coast. Our small-scale production allows us to chase down exceptional opportunities and work with inspiring growers. We’re always on the hunt for small, magical parcels that might one day become our next bottling.

Winemaking

We work with small, select parcels that we translate as purely and beautifully as possible. A decade of winemaking has taught us — with every minute decision in the vineyard and cellar — that trust in the process is critical.

Hibou Wines

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Starting with excellent fruit from honorable growers, we make our wines gently and responsively with minimal intervention.

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Becoming

Hibou's founding proprietors are Jason and Hillary Driscoll, driven by a shared passion for wine and the art of winemaking. Jason’s journey began at Elsom Cellars, a small family winery in Woodinville, Washington, where he first discovered the craft. After moving to St. Helena, he pursued his dream of becoming a chef at the Culinary Institute of America. His experiences in kitchens, apprenticeships, and a Napa Valley harvest nurtured a deep appreciation for both food and wine, which ultimately drew him to the cellar, where the slower, more deliberate process captured his full attention.

Over the past decade, Jason has honed his craft, collaborating with skilled winemakers and continually refining his approach. Hibou provides a platform to create wines that genuinely excite him. Sourcing from exceptional vineyards, Jason seeks honesty and self-expression in every bottle. Each Hibou wine is treated as a unique and evolving entity, becoming exactly what it’s meant to be over time.

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Backroads and Inroads

While working as a cellar hand, Jason fell in love with Sonoma Coast wines. But he knew that gaining access to this highly coveted fruit was difficult even for the most established winemakers. Undeterred, he set his sights on Riddle Vineyard. Located in that Green Valley “sweet spot” of legendary Goldridge soil — the provenance of many of the Valley’s top Pinot Noirs — Riddle Vineyard fruit was nothing short of a dream.

With hopes for an inroad, Jason drove out to Stoetz Lane. He found Jim Riddle’s farmhouse neighboring the vineyard and knocked on the door, armed with homemade pâté, a bottle of Champagne, and an earnest plea. Over a good-humored lunch and a walk through the vines, Jason won Jim’s friendship along with the promise of two small blocks of fruit, which became the first bottling of Hibou.

That’s more or less how Jason found vineyards that would later be crafted into Hibou wines: exploring back roads and knocking on the doors of the growers he admires most, a persuasive picnic basket at the ready.

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The Seeker

Hibou /ee-boo/, French for “owl,” felt a fitting name for our winemaking pursuit. Patient and watchful, tenacious seekers, they are fixtures in the Russian River Valley landscape that we so dearly love. It’s chilling to hear them call out in the vineyards as they stake claim over the land. We’re seeking out that same sense of awe in Hibou—exploring and creating, taking risks, and taking our time to yield a wine that speaks authentically to the beauty of the place and the magic of the process.

“Pick Me”

Knowing that great wine is made in the vineyard, we ferment each vineyard block individually with its native yeasts as 100% or partial whole clusters. We gather the free-run juice, press the remainder gently, and move the segregated wine to barrel where it can evolve honestly. As we tend to the barrels, coaxing the elevage as lightly and intuitively as possible, a few barrels absolutely start to shine. The full narrative of their evolution unfolds in the most beautiful, breathtaking way. Those are the barrels that say, “Pick me.” And we do.

Everchanging

Hibou, by its very nature, is not marked by consistency. We’re small enough to be nimble and risk-taking as we approach each new vintage as an open opportunity to explore and create. What started as just one Russian River Pinot Noir has progressed into a small yet ever-changing portfolio of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay from our favorite vineyards across Northern California. The defining thread is our commitment to our growers and our members: We’re making the most thrilling, authentic wines we possibly can.